34 gardeners joined me this past week in Charleston, SC, our first of four garden tours for 2024. We had gorgeous weather the whole week, and saw some beautiful gardens, and learned a lot about the city and the culture. We were lucky both coming and going with our flights. We were worried because of a delay on the way home that we wouldn’t make our connection, but we didn’t have to change terminals and everyone hustled, and we all made it.
We stayed in the heart of the historic district at the Mills House Hotel, which was easy walking to many of our activities. And walking we did! I averaged 4 miles per day. Our first night we walked to dinner and had a nice time getting the lay of the land.
Our first full day in Charleston started with a walk to the Nathanial Russel House where we met two guides.
Our group split in two and we toured two lovely private gardens,
and walked the neighborhoods
with a good history lesson. Then we went back to the Nathanial Russel House where we had a glass of wine and toured the gardens there.
Then we got on the bus to head to our carriage ride.
Again, we divided up and took a 1-hour ride around Charleston learning more about the historic district and the cities heritage. Afterwards we had the afternoon and evening to explore.
The next day was a full day of gardens, starting with Magnolia Plantation.
Founded in 1676, this large property has been well maintained over the years. We started with a train tour to get the lay of the land. We saw hosts of egrets nesting,
along with several species of herons
and other birds, and several alligators.
The property was covered in cypress
and live oak trees
all dressed dramatically with Spanish moss, which we heard several times is not from Spain, nor is it a moss! There were hundreds of camellias still in bloom,
and the azaleas were beginning to pop. They had a lovely display board showcasing what was in bloom in the garden.
After the train tour, we had time to explore the grounds, and some did the home tour as well.
Then it was off to nearby Middleton Place
another large property along the Ashley River. Here there were sweeping vistas, with smaller “Garden rooms”.
Overall, it was a much more formal garden with lots of camellias, azaleas, tea olives and magnolias. We had lunch in the garden, followed by a tour, then some free time, before heading back to our hotel.
Our last full day gave us a free morning, where we explored or shopped at our leisure. We met up after lunch to get our home and garden tour tickets.
Charleston hosts a spring and fall home and garden tour. It lasts for several weeks, and each day a different part of the city is open. We hit opening day and saw 6 homes on Church Street or nearby. Afterwards we had our farewell dinner.
Our last day we spent at the largest tea plantation in North America, learning about Camellia sinensis.
We learned how to grow it, harvest it and how they make it into the various forms of tea we drink. We got to sample tea and buy tea. Our final stop before the airport was the Angel Oak, the largest live oak,
and the largest tree east of the Mississippi. It was quite impressive.
We packed a lot into 5 days. We got to tour gardens,
learn about plants,
culture, history,
garden design,
and of course, we ate some good food
—shrimp, grits, scallops, red fish, and more. And of course we made many new friends and memories! Butler was our outstanding tour guide, and Angel was equally impressive as our bus driver. We had an amazing group of travelers, who were always on time and always with a smile. I didn't take as many pictures with my broken arm, but that didn't hold me back much. Overall, an amazing start to our garden travel for 2024!